Card holder and dispenser

ABSTRACT

A device for holding and dispensing playing cards one at a time and providing ready access to the top card of the stack, which includes a container having a base, four walls, and an open top; a movable platform for supporting the card stack which is mounted within the container; biasing means urging the movable platform and the cards stacked thereon in an upward direction whereby the top card will be in proper position relative to the open top; and means for restricting and guiding the vertical movement of the movable platform within the container.

I United States Patent 1151 3,659,535

Cerney et al. 1 May 2, 1972 54] CARD HOLDER AND DISPENSER 2,901,3068/1959 Larsen ..312/71 [72] Inventors: Florian B. Cerney; Tina M.Cerney, both g sgz 54 of 1405 1/4 North Havenhurst Drive, Los 329l339 121966 H 71 x Angeles Calif. 90046 3,475,069 10/1969 Saunders 108/136 X[22] Filed: Dec. 4, 1969 Primary ExaminerFrancis K. Zugel [211 App!881958 Attorney-Harris, Kiech, Russell & Kern 52 us. (:1 ..108/136,312/71 ABSTRACT [51] lnt.C|. ..A47b 9/02 A device for holdin g anddlspensmg playing cards one at a [58] Fleld of Search ..108/136, 312/71,2211116299111), time and providing ready access to the top card of thestack, which includes a container having a base, four walls, and an 56]References Cited open top; a movable platform for supporting the cardstack which 15 mounted wlthm the container, biasing means urgmg UMTEDSTATES PATENTS the movable platform and the cards stacked thereon in anupward direction whereby the top card will be in proper position1,161,694 1 H1915 La Brade ..3 12/71 X relative to the open and means frestricting and guiding 210831843 6/1937 Hfcks -312/71 x the verticalmovement of the movable platform within the 2,426,995 9/1947 G1bbs.....312/71 X containen 2,468,115 4/1949 Saul ...3l2/71 X 2,886,391 5/1959Simpson ..3l2/71 X 2 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures CARD HOLDER AND DISPENSERSUMMARY The present invention relates to a card holder and dispenser andbecause the invention has been embodied in and is particularlyapplicable to a device for storing and for providing easy access to atop card of a stack of playing cards, it will be considered in suchconnection herein for the purposes of illustration.

One embodiment of the present invention comprises a container with abase, four walls, and an open top; a card support platform movablydisposed in the card container; biasing means disposed in the containerfor urging the card support platform and cards stacked thereon upwardlytoward the open top; and means for restricting and guiding the verticalmovement of the card support platform.

It is an object of this invention to provide a novel card holder anddispenser which will store a large number of cards and yet whichprovides excellent access to the top card of a card stack disposed inthe card holder and dispenser, and which affords an excellent view ofthe top of the stack.

It is a further object of the present invention, to provide a cardholder and dispenser which is relatively simple in construction andoperation and which will be inexpensive to manufacture. The presentinvention can be made of inexpensive materials that are commerciallyavailable, such as, for example, metal, plastic, hard rubbers, wood, andthe like.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a card holder anddispenser which can store a large number of cards such as, for example,a hundred cards or more, and yet which provides access to only one card,the top card.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a card holderand dispenser that is easily disassembled and reassembled for purposesof repair and preventive maintenance.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cardholder and dispenser which embodies the subject invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken along the line 3- 3 of FIG.2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary sectional view similar to theright-hand portion of FIG. 2 but showing the card support platform inthe depressed position supporting a card stack; and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view showing a modifiedconstruction of the base assembly.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In the drawing, the numeraldesignates an open top card holder and dispenser constructed inaccordance with the teaching of the present invention, which comprises acard container 12 having a base 14 with a floor 15, four walls 16, thewalls each having vertical guide slots 17, and an open top 18; a cardsupport platform 20, having an upper horizontal surface and a lowersurface, said platform 20 being movably disposed in the card container12 for vertical movement therein; a plurality of guide pins 26 removablymounted to the card support platform 20 and extending laterallytherefrom into the vertical guide slots 17 to guide and restrict thevertical movement of the card support platform; and biasing means tourge the platform 20 upwardly, such as a plurality of helicalcompression springs 28 disposed vertically along their longitudinal axesin the card container 12, the lower ends 32 of the springs 28 beingremovably supported on the floor by spring retaining means and the upperends 34 of the springs 28 being removably engaged with the lower surface24 of the card support platform by spring mounting means.

Each of the walls 16 has an upper portion 38, a lower portion 40, aninner edge 48 between the two portions, the lower portion 40 extendingupwardly and perpendicularly from the base 14 in a vertical direction,the upper portion 38 extending upwardly from the lower portion 40 andinclining outwardly away from the vertical the upper portion 40terminating at the upper edge 42 of the wall 16. The inner surface ofthe upper portion 38 of the wall 16, which inclines at an acute angleaway from the vertical, and the inner surface of the lower portion 40 ofthe wall 16, which is flat or planar and substantially vertical,intersect at the inner edge 48 of the wall 16. The outward inclinationof the top portion 38 of the wall 16 affords an excellent view of thetop card 50 of a card stack 36 which is supported by the card supportplatform 20. The outward inclination of the top portion 38 also affordsexcellent access to the top card 50.

The vertical guide slots 17 commence below the upper edges 42 of thewalls 16 and terminate above the base 14. The vertical guide slots 17have upper regions commencing at their upper edges and lower regionsterminating at their lower edges. The guide pins 26 slidably engage thevertical guide slots 17. In the preferred embodiment of the presentinvention, each wall 16 will have one vertical guide slot 17, the slots17 being of substantially equal height and being located in the samerelative positions in the walls 16.

The guide pins 26 are removably mounted to the card support platform 20by mounting means which comprise a plurality of mounting posts 54extending downwardly from the lower surface 24 of the card supportplatform 20 proximate to the outer periphery or edges 56 of the cardsupport platform 20; each of the mounting posts 54 has a horizontalpassageway adapted to receive a guide pin 26. A central post 58 extendsdownwardly from the center of the lower surface 24 of the card supportplatform 20; the center post 58 has a plurality of horizontalpassageways adapted to receive the ends of the guide pins 26. The guidepins 26 extend beyond the outer edges 56 of the card support platform 20to slidably engage their associate vertical guide slot 17. Each guidepin 26 is disposed in a horizontal passageway of a mounting post 54 andone end of each guide pin 26 is disposed in one of the horizontalpassageways of the center post 58.

In a modification of the present invention, the card support platform 20has two guide pins 26, one guide pin crossing the full length of thecard support platform 20 disposed in and through the horizontalpassageways of opposing mounting posts 54 and disposed in and throughone of the horizontal passageways in the center post 58, the ends of theguide pin 26 slidably engaging the vertical guide slots 17 of opposingwalls 16. The other guide pin 26 is positioned at right angles to thefirst guide pin 26 above or below it, crossing the full width of thecard support platform 20. This second guide pin 26 is disposed in andthrough the horizontal passageways of opposing mounting posts 54 andthrough a horizontal passageway in the center post 58; the ends 52 ofthe second guide pin slidably engage the vertical guide slots 17 ofopposing walls 16. In this modification of the device, because the twoguide pins 26 are on different horizontal levels, the vertical guideslots of one pair of opposing walls is positioned higher or lower thanthe vertical guide slots 17 of the other pair of opposing walls 16depending upon the relative vertical positions of the guide pins inorder that the guide pins will simultaneously engage the upper or lowerends of the vertical guide slots 17 when the card support platform 20 iseither displaced fully downwardly or urged fully upwardly.

The assembly of the vertical guide slots 17 of the walls 16 and theguide pins 26 of the card support platform 20 is an important feature inthe present invention because this assembly restricts the verticalmovement of the card support platform in the card container 12. By thisassembly the vertical downward movement of the card support platform 20is restricted in order that the helical compression springs 28 will notbe compressed beyond a predetermined limit wherein they will beoverstressed and permanently damaged. Similarly, the assembly preventsthe card support platform 20 from being urged out of the card container12 through the open top 18 by the force of the compression springs whenthe card support platform 20-is no supporti'nga card stack 36.

The card support platform 20 is urged upwardly toward its open top 18 bythe plurality of helical compression springs 28. The helical compressionsprings are balanced and have sufficient force to urge the card supportplatform 20 and the card stack 36 thereon to a position relative to theopen top 18 wherein the top card 50 of the stack 36 can be easily seenand picked up. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, thehelical compression springs 28 have sufficient force to urge the cardsupport platform 20 and the card stack 36 thereon upwardly to a positionwherein the top card 50 is from about l mil to about 100 mils above theinner edges 48 of the walls 16. The lower ends 32 of the helicalcompression springs 28 are removably supported on the floor 15 of thebase 14, and the upper ends 34 of the helical compression springs 28 areremovably engaged with the lower surface 24 of the card support platform20 by spring mounting means which comprise a plurality of generallycylindrical lugs 60 extending downwardly from the lower surface 24 ofthe card support platform 20. The cylindrical lugs 60 are adapted toreceive the upper ends 34 of the helical compression springs 28. The

diameter of each of the cylindrical lugs 60 is slightly larger than theinner diameter of the upper ends 34 of the helical compression springs28. Accordingly, the upper ends 34 fit snugly around and over the lugs60. The helical compression springs are removably engaged with the cardsupport platform 20 by pushing the upper ends 34 over the lugs 60. ln asimilar manner the lower ends 32 of the helical compression springs 28are removably supported on the floor 15 of the base 14 by springretaining means which comprise a plurality of generally cylindrical lugs62 extending upwardly from the floor 15 of the base 14. The cylindricallugs 62 are adapted to receive the lower ends 32 of the helicalcompression springs 28. The diameters of the cylindrical lugs 62 areslightly larger than the inner diameters of the lower ends 32 f thesprings 28. Accordingly, the lower ends 32 of the springs 28 fit snuglyaround and over the lugs 62. The lower ends 32 are removably supportedon the cylindrical lugs 62 in substantially the same way the upper ends34 of the helical compression springs 28 are removably engaged on thecylindrical lugs 60.

In a modification of the present invention, the spring-retaining meanscomprise a plurality of circular wells 64 (FIG. extending into the floorof the base 14; the wells 64 are adapted to receive the lower ends 32 ofthe helical compression springs 28. The walls of the wells 64 inclineinwardly and downwardly to circular horizontal base sections 65. Thebase sections 65 have diameters equal to the outer diameters of thelower ends 32 of the springs 28. The lower ends 32 remain in the wells64 by virtue of the fact that the helical compression springs 28 arecompressed when the card support platform is mounted in the cardcontainer 12.

ln the preferred embodiment of the present invention the walls 16 of thecard container 12 have two thicknesses; the wall thickness at the outeredges 45 of the vertical guide slot 17 in their upper region is a majorthickness and the wall thickness at the outer edges 47 of the verticalguide slots 17 in their lower region is a minor thickness. The guidepins 26 slidably engage the vertical guide slots 17 and extend laterallyfrom the card support platform 20 and into the vertical guide slots 17.The ends or tips 52 of the guide pins 26 are flush with I the outeredges 45 of the vertical guide slots 17 in their upper regions. When thecard support platform is displaced downwardly so that the guide pins 26are in the lower regions of the vertical guide slots 17, the ends 52extend outwardly beyond the outer edges 47 of the vertical guide slots17. This type of wall construction affords excellent access to the ends52 of the guide pins 26 when the card support platform 20 is displacedfully downward, and it provides protection for the ends 52 when theplatform 20 is displaced only partially downward. This type of wallconstruction also adds to the strength of the walls 16 by increasingtheir rigidity and it reinforces the sides of the vertical guide slots17.

The novel construction of the present device described Hunt hereinqrovides for easy assembly and disassembly of the device. he guide pins2 are removably mounted to the card support platform 20 by mountingmeans described herein. The guide pins 26 are removed by pulling themcompletely through their associate vertical guide slots 17 which iseasily accomplished when the card support platform 20 is displaced fullydownwardly. With the guide pins 26 removed from the vertical guide slots17, the vertical motion of the card support platform 20 is no longerrestricted and the baising means will urge the platform upwardly abovethe open top 18 where the platform 20 can be grasped by an operator toreach between the card support platform 20 and the upper edges 42 of thewalls 16 to remove the upper ends 34 of the springs 28 from the springmounting means. Once the card support platform 20 is freed from thesprings 28, it can be put aside and the lower ends 32 of the springs 28can be dismounted from the spring-retaining means.

Although exemplary embodiments of the invention have been disclosedherein for purposes of illustration, it will be understood that variouschanges, modifications and substitutions may be incorporated in suchembodiments without departing from the spirit of the invention asdescribed and defined in the claims which follow.

We claim:

1. A card holder and dispenser comprising, in combination:

an open top card container having four vertical walls and a floor, eachof the walls containing a vertical guide slot;

a card support platform positioned in said container for verticalmovement therein, having a plurality of guide pins each of which extendslaterally therefrom and slidably engages on of said slots to guide andrestrict the vertical movement of said platform, the guide pins beingremovably mounted on said platform by means which include a plurality ofmounting posts extending downwardly from the lower surface of saidplatform, each of said posts containing a horizontal passageway forreceiving one of said pins, and a center post extending downwardly fromthe center of the lower surface of said platform, said post containing aplurality of horizontal passageways each of which receives one end of apin, each pin extending through a passageway of one of said posts, withone end thereof received in said post and the other end thereofextending through one of said slots, said pin and slot arrangementlimiting the vertical movement of said platform in said containerrelative to said floor and guiding relative movement therebetween; and

biasing means in said container between said floor and said platform,urging said platform upwardly toward the open top of the container.

2. In a card holder and dispenser, the combination of:

an open top card container, having four vertical walls and a floor, eachof said walls having a vertical slot therein, the wall at the outeredges of each of the slots being thickened throughout a major portion ofthe length of each of said slots;

a card support platform positioned in said container for verticalmovement therein;

a plurality of guide pins mounted on said platform and extendinglaterally therefrom, the outer end of each of said pins extendingthrough one of said slots to a position substantially flush with theouter surface of the thickened portion of the wall of said slot butprojecting beyond said wall at its unthickened portion adjacent saidslot to provide ready access to the end of the pin when said pin is inregistry with said unthickened portion of the wall; and biasing means inthe container between said floor and said platform and urging saidplatform upwardly toward the open end of said container.

* i i k

1. A card holder and dispenser comprising, in combination: an open topcard container having four vertical walls and a floor, each of the wallscontaining a vertical guide slot; a card support platform positioned insaid container for vertical movement therein, having a plurality ofguide pins each of which extends laterally therefrom and slidablyengages on of said slots to guide and restrict the vertical movement ofsaid platform, the guide pins being removably mounted on said platformby means which include a plurality of mounting posts extendingdownwardly from the lower surface of said platform, each of said postscontaining a horizontal passageway for receiving one of said pins, and acenter post extending downwardly from the center of the lower surface ofsaid platform, said post containing a plurality of horizOntalpassageways each of which receives one end of a pin, each pin extendingthrough a passageway of one of said posts, with one end thereof receivedin said post and the other end thereof extending through one of saidslots, said pin and slot arrangement limiting the vertical movement ofsaid platform in said container relative to said floor and guidingrelative movement therebetween; and biasing means in said containerbetween said floor and said platform, urging said platform upwardlytoward the open top of the container.
 2. In a card holder and dispenser,the combination of: an open top card container, having four verticalwalls and a floor, each of said walls having a vertical slot therein,the wall at the outer edges of each of the slots being thickenedthroughout a major portion of the length of each of said slots; a cardsupport platform positioned in said container for vertical movementtherein; a plurality of guide pins mounted on said platform andextending laterally therefrom, the outer end of each of said pinsextending through one of said slots to a position substantially flushwith the outer surface of the thickened portion of the wall of said slotbut projecting beyond said wall at its unthickened portion adjacent saidslot to provide ready access to the end of the pin when said pin is inregistry with said unthickened portion of the wall; and biasing means inthe container between said floor and said platform and urging saidplatform upwardly toward the open end of said container.